Dropped in at our Les Charmettes holiday parc recently to catch up with Steve Smith, the parc director, and check that all is well. Steve apologised that he had received a letter just the day before and had opened it by mistake before realising it was for me. I was just a little surprised when I pulled out an official invitation to a meeting with President Sarkozy, near La Rochelle, the following day.

Quick change of arrangements for the week, formal shirt borrowed from Philippe Burgaud, our holiday parc director at La Pignade and with extra attention to my morning toilette there I was just a few yards from the human dynamo.